England rugby union head coach Stuart Lancaster visited BBC Radio 5 live to answer questions on a range of topics including coaching recruitment, the 2015 World Cup and his coaching philosophy.

Listeners contributed many of the questions and below is a selection of his answers.

What is the latest on the recruitment of coaching staff?

The next step is to find Andy Farrell's replacement. For me, there is one stand-out candidate - Wayne Smith. I met him and had a real good chat with him. Clearly the lure of international rugby is a strong one for him. He enjoyed his time at Northampton, he enjoyed his time in England. He was excited by the vision I presented to him about where we were going as a national team. Wayne has got not just a lot to offer from a coaching point of view, in terms of experience, southern hemisphere and he has been in World Cups. The role for Wayne would be the same as the one Andy [Farrell] did. But he has some decisions to make of his own.

What about the reports linking Clermont assistant coach Alex King to one of the roles?

I've had conversations with Alex. There are two roles planned, one is a long-term role and one is a short-term role for the tour of South Africa. There are logistical problems regarding Alex's current duties with his club and our preparation plans. Alex probably wouldn't fit the bill in the short term. Mike Catt is an option, but I can't comment too much further.

What has been your best moment as an England manager?

Stuart Lancaster factfile

1969: Born 6 October, Cumbria

1992: Makes debut for Leeds

2000: Retires from playing

2001: Appointed Leeds RFU academy head

2006: Director of rugby at Leeds. Takes them back into Premiership

2008: Appointed head of RFU's elite player development

2010: Manager of England Saxons, wins Churchill Cup in 2011

2011: Named England interim coach

2012: Named head coach

I think it was Tom Croft's try against France. It epitomised everything we had talked about - playing with no fear.

Do you have self belief?

I don't want to come across as over-confident, but it's natural, as a head coach, you have to come with that. I learnt about coaching by talking to coaches in other sports, such as football's Stuart Pearce, rugby league's Tony Smith and cricket's Hugh Morris. I've learnt from leadership books. If people want to know which book in particular has influenced me, it's 'The Score Will Take Care Of Itself' by Bill Walsh. It's about the San Francisco 49ers's journey. It is probably the one book I refer to more than any other.

Is there a possibility of Brian Ashton returning? What about Sir Clive Woodward?

My relationship with Brian goes back to the days when I was the academy coach at Leeds and he ran the national academy. As a young coach growing up, he was inspirational. I spoke to Brian regularly during the Six Nations. We speak regularly and he will play a big part. I've not spoken to Clive but we have exchanged texts. Hopefully I can speak with him after South Africa.

Do you still coach the Scarborough under-12s?

I am the assistant coach, actually. I will turn up whenever I can. It keeps me grounded.

Do you think the Rugby Football Union has to do more to help northern clubs?

I think we definitely need, collectively, to do more to help northern clubs. Cumbria, Northumberland, Durham, Lancashire, Yorkshire and Cheshire are absolute hotbeds of rugby talent. One of the challenges I found at Leeds was retaining our best talent. It is competitive in the Premiership but, equally, we cannot let northern rugby die.

Is the potential of this England team only likely to be fulfilled if it has an outside centre with the flair to utilise the back three?

There are lots of different combinations I would like to try in the back line, but the challenge is when do you do that? Every game in international rugby is a must-win game. Manu [Tuilagi] has done a fantastic job for us at 13. We have some fantastic 13s coming through with the young players, but they have not quite emerged yet, such as a George Lowe or a Jonathan Joseph. It takes time for these lads to come through. We will be looking to take some of those lads to South Africa and give them a chance.

Do you fear a bad reaction from the media if the next couple of games go badly?

Lancaster says Wayne Smith will decide on his England coaching role in the next 24 hours

Everyone always says to me beware of when the inevitable kicking comes, but why is it necessarily going to come? It is a demanding role and the responsibility is huge. I have always been of the belief you can only do things to the best of your ability, and one thing I can say with confidence is the management team, the players and myself will always give our all.

How will you deal with the issue of players going overseas?

Part of the way our relationship works with the clubs is the fact we have agreed training camps that are outside the International Rugby Board's window, and that is a huge advantage. That said, if a player decides to go, there are exceptional circumstances you can bring them back. If a player's form is so good, we would want to have a look at him.

What do you think about relegation and promotion?

If you ask me with my Leeds hat on, there should be no relegation. But, part of the argument for relegation and promotion is that your players get used to scrapping for their lives. At the moment, the model in England is working well. I am sure they will be looking at it all the time.

Do you feel you are an example to people, that if you put in the work with your coaching badges, you can get to the top?

I am a firm believer in coach development and in England we have some fantastic systems in lots of sports, but often we look overseas to find magic wands and solutions. I think we have plenty of good coaches in this country. I was brought up on a farm in Cumbria and, 10 years ago, I was a PE teacher at a school in Wakefield, and now I am the head coach of England.

How were you told you had got the job permanently?

We had done the Six Nations debrief and the feedback was positive. I went to the chief executive's office and he told me I had got the job until January 2016. It was unbelievable. I didn't tell my wife on the train home, and when I got home, she was telling me the washing machine had broken etc. We got into bed and she asked me how the review went, and I said: 'Oh, didn't I tell you? I got the job.' The light went on and she was punching me.